Gnocchi

Velvety, light pillows of fluff ... that's how I describe really good gnocchi. It's very hard to find these pillows of fluff as most restaurants use prepackaged stuff which tastes nothing like handmade gnocchi. Once you've had the real stuff you'll never go back! I now ask servers if the gnocchi is handmade. My favourite restaurant for gnocchi is Paradiso, the 12 hour braised wild boar gnocchi is heavenly! In November I had the pleasure of experiencing one of their cooking classes and learned the secrets of great gnocchi! I've made it twice at home since then and the first time was just like at the restaurant; the second I didn't add enough flour. It didn't taste bad and my family loved it but I could tell the difference. It's still a learning process so if you love gnocchi don't give up. I haven't yet!

Here's the recipe the restaurant provided us.

Ingredients:

2lbs yukon gold potatoes
1 large egg
3-4 cups flour
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 tbsp salt

Method:

* Boil potatoes with the skin on until soft and drain
* Peel potatoes when slightly cooled by scraping off the skins with a paring knife, or the back of a butter knife. At this point the skin will slide off the potatoes.

* Rice or mash the potatoes and cool uncovered in the refrigerator. I recommend using a potato ricer. Cool overnight if possible.
* When potatoes are cooled place in mixer (with dough hook) and add eggs, cheese and salt and mix on low speed adding flour slowly until dough is soft and holds together. It will look similar to when you make bread with the dough hook, it will be one big ball of dough.  Too much flour will make the dough chewy so allow flour to mix in well before each addition.
* On floured work surface divide dough into 2 - 3" pieces and roll out into 1/4" tubes and cut into 1/2" pieces.
* Cook in small batches in a large pot of salted boiling water
* Gnocchi is ready when it floats to the top. Remove immediately to an ice water bath to stop the cooking process.
* When cooled strain and pat dry and keep cool until ready to use.

Chocolate Guinness Cake

 

One of my favourite fellows, Mary, made this wonderful cake as a treat for us one shift and it has caught my attention ever since. I decided to make Nigella Lawson's version of a Chocolate Guinness Cake for a boxing day family get together. I wanted something pretty easy to make after a busy Christmas Eve & Christmas day. I've made this recipe before with great results. It's a dense, moist chocolate cake with cream cheese icing to make it all come together. When iced it almost resembles a glass of Guinness. If you don't like an overly sweet cake this one is for you!  I will pass on the glass of Guinness but not on a piece of this cake.

Ingredients:

• 50 ml Guinness
• 250 gram(s) unsalted butter
• 75 gram(s) cocoa powder
• 400 gram(s) caster sugar (I use regular sugar with great results)
• 142 ml sour cream
• 2 medium egg(s)
• 1 tablespoon(s) vanilla extract
• 275 gram(s) all purpose flour
• 2.5 teaspoon(s) baking soda

 Cream Cheese Icing:

• 300 gram(s) cream cheese
• 150 gram(s) Icing sugar
• 125 ml whipping cream

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and butter and line a 9 inch springform pan.
2. Pour the Guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter - in spoons or slices - and heat until the butter's melted, at which time you should whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and then pour into the brown, buttery, beery pan and finally whisk in the flour and baking soda.
3. Pour the cake batter into the greased and lined tin and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Leave to cool completely in the tin on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.
4. When the cake's cold, sit it on a flat platter or cake stand and get on with the icing. Lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth, sieve over the icing sugar and then beat them both together. Or do this in a processor, putting the unsieved icing sugar in first and blitz to remove lumps before adding the cheese.
5. Add the cream and beat again until it makes a spreadable consistency. Ice the top of the black cake so that it resembles the frothy top of the famous pint.

 http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/chocolate-guinness-cake-3086